Indore: ‘Virtual World Is 20 Times More Dangerous Than Real World’

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Internet has ended the boundaries of the world. Any person can contact anyone from any part of the world. The virtual world is 20 times more dangerous than the real world. These words were said by Dr Varun Kapoor, Special Director General of Police (DGP) while speaking as a keynote speaker in a seminar organised by the Tax Practitioners Association and Indore CA branch here on Friday. The subject of the seminar was ‘Cyber Crime in Tax Professionals Perspective’. Technology has made the work of common people easy and has become an integral part of our lives.

While it has many benefits, it has also given rise to many risks like cyberbullying, grooming, phishing and stalking. Many people are not aware of these types of crimes and become victims of cybercrime due to unsafe use of the computer and the internet. Cybercriminals hide their identity and use social media, email, chat rooms, instant messaging and gaming platforms to target children and teenagers as well as adults and mature people and motivate them to do things that can lead to easy blackmail by means of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation.

Thus it is necessary to use cyberspace with caution and responsibility. To avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime, be cautious while sharing personal information on social media because cybercriminals can easily get information from here and misuse it. Avoid using public Wi-Fi as these are unsafe and can be easily hacked, said Kapoor.

Participants were told to update their operating system, web browser and other software regularly. They were exhorted to not click on unknown links received on any email or message and keep their social media accounts, bank accounts, email accounts safe with double authentication (which includes OTP or biometrics in addition to password) and keep changing them from time to time.

Give your user ID and password only on authorised websites. Also, see that the website address should be preceded by https:// and not http://. Check before replying to an email ID that resembles someone's name. Do not give out your personal information and financial information out of greed. Do not accept unknown calls and video calls and friend requests from unknown persons. Do not forward and share information circulating on social media without checking. Do not install unnecessary and unknown software, apps, online games. These were some of the suggestions given by the speaker.        

Deputy superintendent of police Neeti Dandotiya, inspector Poonam Rathore and members of her team played an important role in the successful conduct of the seminar. On this occasion, CA Shailendra Singh Solanki, CA Ajay Samaria, CA Pramod Tapdia, CA Som Singhal, Nilendu Dave, CA Umesh Goyal, CA Sunil G. Khandelwal, along with a large number of members were present. Earlier, TPA president CA JP Saraf while delivering the welcome address said that our life has become completely virtual based, hence it is necessary for us to learn cyber protocols. Even a little carelessness can cause great loss.